I Belong

Please welcome Michele Bardsley here today to Fantastic Fables. She is here with not one but two new releases in her Broken Heart Vampire series! Broken Heart Tails is a collection of short stories that every fan of her Broken Heart Vampire series should read. Only Lycans Need Apply is the ninth novel in this paranormal romance series. Both titles are available now.

One lucky winner will receive a copy of Only Lycans Need Apply. This giveaway is provided by Michele Bardsley!

“Aw, crap. Really? Ugh!” Agatha Winters wondered whatever possessed her to install an old-fashioned brass bell above the entrance door to her dental practice. She guiltily shoved the champagne truffle into her mouth and chewed as fast as she could. She was sprawled in the dental chair, the one she’d occupied for the last fifteen minutes as she tossed caution–and tooth decay–to the wind, and opened up the gold box of Godiva chocolates. She’d had it for a week. The sparkly container had sat on her desk, taunting her with caloric sin and the memory of the stupid man who’d given it to her.

It was supposed to be an anniversary gift. Except it turned out to be a break-up gift. Though Jack, who was–as she’d just pointed out–stupid, had wanted to take it back. Typical. The irony of buying candy for a dentist had completely escaped him. And now she, who advocated healthy snacking and avoiding sweets to patients every single day, had in her possession a box of dental sin. Because Jack wasn’t the sort of guy who paid attention. To details. To her. To gift-giving etiquette.

“Helloooooooo?”

The melodic female voice jolted her out of her morose thoughts. She owned a very small dental practice in a less-than-ideal area of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She’d never felt unsafe, or anything. Obviously. Because she kept forgetting to the lock the door and switch the sign over to “Closed.” She used to have a receptionist who did that … but Simone had left with Jack. Apparently, the receptionist had been dating Jack nearly as long as Aggie had. Thus, the break-up and the refusal to give up the chocolates. And also, the reason she’d caved into the gnawing, aching, horrible depression that had plagued her for the last seven days.

She swung her legs off the dental chair, noted the chocolate smear on the collar of her once pristine white lab coat, and trudged into the hallway, and into the tiny lobby. She pushed through the door. “Look, I’m sorry, but it’s late and I’m–”

Aggie stared at the woman, a trim brunette dressed in jeans and T-shirt, and the … the … huge, black-furred, green-eyed creature. He looked like he could eat a Volvo. She took a step back, fear starting to beat a tattoo at the base of her skull. “What is it? A mutant dog?”

The mutant dog bared its teeth at her and growled. Then he immediately stopped. She got the impression he was trying not to do the human equivalent of “Ooooooow!”

“He doesn’t like being called a dog,” said the woman. Her gaze was drawn to the swipe of chocolate on Aggie’s collar. She sniffed the air, then her eyes went all dark and weird. “Oh, my God. You have Godiva back there?”

Aggie gulped. The woman canines looked longer than normal. And were her eyes glowing just the tiniest bit red? “H-how did you know that?”

The dog barked. The fierce noise started Aggie so badly, she yelped.

“You’re scaring her. Sheesh.” The brunette held out her hand, her gaze and her teeth normal as usual. Aggie wondered if all those Godiva truffles might’ve induced hallucinations. “I’m Jessica. This is Damian. He has a dental issue.”

She took the woman’s hand, which felt like gripping ice, and shook. “I’m not a veterinarian.”

The dog growled.

“He doesn’t like veterinarians, either,” said Jessica. “Could you just take a look? We’ll pay extra for the inconvenience.”

Aggie sighed. Well, since she was still paying off college loans, extra cash was always welcome. What did she have to go home to anyway? She didn’t even have a cat, just a poor, struggling houseplant she’d named Harold. And he wasn’t much of a talker. He was pretty good at dying, though. “Okay,” she said, gesturing toward the door that led to the treatment rooms. “I can’t make any promises.”

She went first, Jessica followed and so did the nightmare called Damian. Aggie only had one treatment room, the one she’d been lolling in while she dentally abused herself. She swept the Godiva box off the tray and tucked it into the cabinet above the small sink. Then she washed her hands, snapped on some gloves, and turned to the dog. He hopped onto the chair. His strange green eyes held a mixture of a pain and suspicion.

“He’s not going to bite me, is he?” Aggie eyed him, not relishing the idea of sticking her hands anywhere near those massive, sharp teeth.

“Er … no,” said Jessica.

Aggie was not reassured by the woman’s uncertain tone. “Um, maybe … you know, we could Google an all-night vet.”

Damian growled.

“I could make you do it,” said Jessica in a bored voice. Her gaze was pinned to the cabinet where Aggie had stored the Godiva truffles. “But I really don’t want to. Glamouring is hit or miss for me. Because I can’t stay serious about it. If it makes you feel any better, you won’t remember any of this experience. But we’ll leave the money. That’s only fair.”

Hello, Ozzie Osborne? You left your crazy train here. Okay. The best way to deal with the situation was just do what the escaped mental patient and her science-experiment mongrel wanted so they would leave. And then Aggie could go home with her Godiva and watch Harold turn brown as she ruined her teeth and lamented her life.

“Don’t bite,” she admonished the dog. He tilted his head, looking offended. Then he pulled his mouth back in a rather scary smile and opened his maw. Well, he was rather well behaved for a science experiment. Aggie took a mouth mirror and a penlight. Then she sucked in steadying breath, and put them inside the dog’s huge mouth. There was nothing she could see as she rotated the mirror to examine at the upper and lower mandibles. He had remarkable teeth, not just in the category of “terrifying,” either. Healthy, white, maybe needed some flossing…

Whoa. She saw it. The problem.

“Aw, crap.” She removed the instruments and moved backward until her back smacked against the cabinet. Her heart tripped over itself, pounding like she’d been running a marathon, and her hands started to shake. “What … or should I say who … has your dog been chewing on?”

Jessica rolled her eyes. Then she poked a finger at Damian. “I told you to let go of his hand.”

The dog barked in a staccato burst, as though he were tossing annoyed words at the woman.

“Okay,” she said, holding up a hand. “You’re right. He was trying to snap my neck, so it’s probably good you tore off his arm. At least it distracted him enough for me to finish the job.”

Serial killers, thought Aggie. I’ve let serial killers into my office. She held up the mirror and penlight, as though they were sword and shield. “I won’t tell anyone,” she said. “If you just leave … I won’t say anything, I swear.”

“Yeah,” said Jessica. “I know. Trust me. Look, it’s not what you think. The guy was already dead. But the thing about zombies is that they’re stubborn.”

“Wait.” Aggie stared at Jessica, who really looked like a normal human being, if a little on the pale side. “You’re saying Dogzilla has a zombie finger stuck in his molars?”

“Ew,” said Jessica. “Gross.”

Damian barked.

“Sorry, dude. But that’s disgusting.” Jessica peered at Aggie. “Can you remove the finger? Because I’m not doing it.”

“Yeah,” said Aggie, as hysteria bubbled. “I’ll pull out the zombie finger. From your mutant dog’s monster teeth. Why not?” She grabbed the forceps from the tray and parked herself in front of Damian. He stared at her and refused to open his mouth. She looked at the forceps. He might be a dog, but she knew that look. “It’s sterilized,” she said. “Though since you’re the one with a dead guy’s finger lodged in his teeth… maybe you shouldn’t be so picky.”

Jessica snorted with laughter.

Damian offered up a very human look of disdain then opened his maw. Aggie aimed the penlight at the ravaged finger that had become wedged between two molars. She grabbed the grimy tip and yanked as hard as she could. The finger popped out–a finger sliver, really. She wondered if he’d swallowed the other part.

Blech.

She deposited the finger in the metal bowl on the dental tray. She looked at the dog and asked, “You need some pain medication?”

Damina shook his furry head then jumped off the chair. He stared at her a moment then executed some kind of doggy bow while dipping his head. Then he padded out the opened door.

Jessica said, “That’s his way of saying thank you.”

“No problem.”

“Well, thanks for not freaking out.”

“Oh, I am,” said Aggie. “Totally.”

“Way to hide to it.” Jessica put her hand on Aggie’s shoulder.

Aggie looked into the woman’s brown eyes, which seemed dark and liquid, and … she felt suddenly, inexplicably relaxed. Then she was kinda floating in a pink haze. It was really nice.

“Nobody devours Godiva like that without a good reason. Who’s the guy who broke your heart?”

“Jack Drifton.”

“Well, here’s the thing, Agatha, you’re gonna forget about him, okay? He’ll never enter your mind again because he doesn’t exist. And the mutant dog? He doesn’t exist, either. And neither do I. You’re free of Jack Drifton. And everything that happened tonight? Never happened.”

National bestselling author Michele Bardsley writes about Oklahoma vampires, Texas wizards, and zombie-making teenagers (as Michele Vail). Obsessed with gourmet chocolate, History Channel, and all things shiny, she creates fictional worlds because, hey, it’s a lot more fun than housework. She lives happily-ever-after in Texas with her Viking and their family.

When I found the ancient tomb of the two most powerful vampires in history, I knew I was in for a lot of trouble….

But archaeologists like me, Moira Jameson, are ready for trouble. Okay, maybe not human-species-threatening trouble. Or the kind of trouble that arrives in the form of a sexy werewolf named Drake. Yeah. Werewolf. And I thought ancient curses and walking corpses were a joke. Um…not so much.

’Cause a walking corpse named Karn wants to reveal vampires, and all of parakind, to the humans. And everyone else thinks that’s a bad idea. Then a pyramid mysteriously appears in Broken Heart, Oklahoma, and I’m appointed to get inside, survive booby traps, and awaken two very old, very hungry vampires. Luckily, Drake has my back (and my front). Unfortunately, archaeology sometimes reveals some very nasty surprises. And I’ll have to decide between saving myself…or saving the world.

Michele Bardsley’s Broken Heart Tails is a collection of short stories set in everybody’s favorite small town, Broken Heart, OK.

Don’t miss out on some secrets and surprises from your favorite paranormal community. Get up close and personal with Ruadan! Find out who Zerina’s crush is! And read 2 stories written by Lorcan himself!

This full length collection is the perfect compendium for all fans of the Broken Heart series.